Games 11 and 12 - Cubs and Dodgers

Game 11 with the Cubs was a game for the ages.  The Giants played a tough 5 innings with the Cubs just to watch a close game go to a blow-out as the Cubs scored 7 in the final inning.  Dejected, heads hanging, our boys skulked off of the field to the bench for their last at bat.  Dave, Shawn and I reminded them of the comeback victories we'd had earlier in the year, but despite our best efforts they weren't buying it.  Then a miraculous thing happened with two outs; an 8-run rally. 

The game with the Cubs had been well played up until the 6 th inning.  Our pitching led by strong efforts from Ben, Ethan, Savion and Nic kept the game close with a hot-hitting Cubs team who recorded 14 hits.  We improved over our last game with the Cubs by issuing only 9 walks instead of 20 and striking them out 9 times!  That made a huge difference.  While we threw the ball around a little bit too much, we played decent defense recording 9 put-outs, including a caught-stealing from both Ben and Joe behind the plate and some sweet D from our infielders Trevor and Easton. 

Offensively this was the type of explosion our team is capable of.  19 runs is a lot of scoring and just enough to take the decision in this game.  Multiple hit games came throughout the order from Trevor, Nic, Ben, Ethan, Savion and RJ.  As a team we had 14 hits and drew 11 walks.  This included some real disciplined at bats in a chaotic last inning.  Our boys performed extremely well under pressure in the bottom of the 6th inning as we mounted our 2-out charge.  Some key hits by Trevor, Nic, Ben and Savion and clutch at-bats from the rest of the order allowed us to rally past the Cubs in the last inning.  Ethan's steal of home for the game winner took a lot of guts and shows what a winner this kid really is. It took me 2 hours to exhale after this game.  Our told our kids to remember how bad they felt after the top of the 6th and remember how they were able to come back despite the large deficit.

Game 12 was not as dramatic nor as fulfilling in the end.  Our offensive explosion against the Cubs seemed to have robbed of any offensive production in this game.  That coupled with the excellent, and I mean excellent defense from the Dodgers put the Giants on the short side of this contest.

This was not our best defensive effort of the year.  We continued some poor decision making with the baseball that led to too many extra bases for the Dodgers.  We need to know when to hold on to the baseball versus when to take a shot at a baserunner.  We also need to improve our outfield play by catching some balls and blocking those that we cannot get to.  Trevor pitched well in this game finding his groove after a tough 1st inning.  Roberto came in and held the game together with some nice relief pitching.  We probably could have won this game had we supported our pitchers with better defense and more scoring.

As I mentioned our offense kind of shutdown in this game.  We managed to score 6 runs, but left several opportunities to score on the bases.  Ben and Trevor had awesome 3 for 3 performances against some of the best pitching in the league.  We actually had good contact all game, but too many balls were hit straight at Dodger players and when they had the opportunity, the Dodgers did well making the outs.  We still have one more left against the Team and our coaches are busy mixing up the magic formula that will win for us. 

Go Giants

Games 9 and 10 - Astros and Dbacks

Game 9 was the third game this year with the hard-hitting Astros.  In our previous two games against this team, we were able to squeak out victories with late inning comebacks.  Our Giants did our best to rally back again in this game only to be cutoff a couple of runs short.

Ethan again pitched a solid game into the 4th inning carding 4 Ks and only 1 walk.  Savion came in and did a nice job in relief.  The Astros did a great job of hitting good pitches.  Despite throwing very well, the Astros put together 12 hits, many of which went for extra bases.  Despite solid defense by the Giants (7 put-outs), we could not stop the Astros offensive machine in this game.

On the offensive side, the Giants strung together some key hits (13 total) to take put runs across when needed.  Easton and RJ both had 2 for 2 days with RBIs.  Trevor continued his hot hitting going 2 for 3 at the top of the order.  As a team we are hitting the ball as good as anyone in the league.

Against the Dbacks in Game 10 the Giants saw some very good pitching from the combination of Ben, Nic and Trevor, limiting the Dbacks to just 4 hits and striking out 10.  After shaking off some early game jitters which resulted in 4 Dbacks runs, our defense stepped up and played solid in innings 2 - 5 recording 6 put-outs.  Ben continued his streak of throwing out base stealers with a key put out at 3rd.  Easton made a sweet double play at first snagging a line drive and being heads up to tag the base doubling off the lead runner.

Offense was the headline in this game for the Giants.  Though we left several runners on base, we saw some amazing hits from Easton.  From the cleanup spot Easton went 2 for 2 with 2 home runs, one three-run shot to deep left and one grand slam to left center.  Easton's combination of power hitting and speed on the basepaths have made him our team's most reliable RBI guy.  Our team did a much better job being selective at the plate and hitting pitches in the strike zone.

Great job Giants..

Games 7 and 8, Mets and Reds

The Giants rebounded nicely from two tough losses with two very impressive wins against the Mets and the Reds. In both games the Giants brought the dominant offense we've come to expect early in this season.  By being selective at the plate and stringing together key hits our Giants were able to close out these games with confidence.

After the Mets coaching staff did a great job preparing a wet field, the Giants did a nice job of hitting the pitches we should be hitting.  Trevor continued his incredible season at the top of the order with a 2 for 2 performance which included a home run.  Key hits from Easton, Ben and Nic also delivered the runs we needed to stay on top in this game.

Our pitching was effectively wild.  The combination of Trevor, Nic and Jordan allowed only 4 hits while strikingg out 11.  Our defense was solid enough with some timely throw-outs from Ben at catcher.   Playing solid defense helped choke off the Mets offense despite giving up 15 walks.  Overall a solid performance by our Giants.

Game 8 gave us our first look at the Reds.  For 3 innings, I've never seen our team play so well.  We let up a little in innings 4 and 5 but still closed out the game well.  The Giants liked what they saw from the Reds pitching, tuning up the offense for 16 hits.  4 for 4 performances by Trevor and Easton led the way, along with a 3 for 3 from Nic and a 2 for 3 from Ben.  The Giants improved our selectivity at the plate drawing 12 walks in addition to the 16 hits.  What an excellent job on offense.

Dominant pitching from Ben, Ethan and Savion limited the potent Reds offense to just 7 runs on 7 hits.  Our pitchers showed some improved accuracy with only 5 walks issued against 11 strikeouts.  4 put-outs including some great plays at shorstop from Trevor and another caught stealing from Ben at catcher helped our cause on the defensive side. 

Overall two great wins for our Giants.  Way to go kids, see you this week.

Games 5 and 6 - Cubs and Dodgers

Games 5 and 6 turned out to be very tough for our surging Giants.  Undoubtedly we faced the best pitching we've seen all year and it was reflected in our low run totals each game.  However, having faced the best pitching in our league, we stood up to the challenge and nearly won both games.  This means that both our pitching and our defense matched up well with the finest in our league.  Our kids cannot be doubted for their willingness to fight in a tough contest like the last two games and as I've told them after each game, they should be extremely proud of their performance.  


Game 5 pitted two teams with early-season success against each other in what turned out to be a low-scoring defensive battle.    Excellent pitching from the Cubs limited our offensive attack to 4 runs on 9 hits, against 12 strikeouts and 5 walks.  Joe Fedota continued his hot hitting with a 3 for 3 performance and was supported by good hitting from Ben, Easton, Savion, Jordan and RJ.  The great part about our offense in this game was our ability to mount a comeback in the top of the 6th inning to take the lead in the game, only to have our efforts thwarted by sunset.


On the defensive side our pitchers did a nice job keeping the score down with timely accuracy.  Savion, Nic, Trevor and Ben all gave it their all against the Cubs limiting the opposing lineup to just 7 hits.  The story in this game, however was the walks.  The Cubs drew 20 walks against our pitching and despite terrific defensive plays (We had 9 put-outs in this game) the number of baserunners we allowed was too much for us to overcome in the time-shortened contest.


Game 6 matched our Giants against the Dodgers and their terrific one-two punch of pitchers.  Our offense managed only 3 hits in 27 plate appearances against the two Dodger pitchers.  While we were selective enough to draw 8 walks, we were equally non-selective at the plate, resulting in a season-high total of 14 strike-outs.  We need to be more selective at the plate early in the count and not swing at bad pitches that put us in a hole.  Our offense was led by Ben Linberg's 2 for 2 performance and excellent baserunning by Ethan and Sebastian to add to our run total when it counted late in the game.  Once again our offense showed some grit taking the lead late in the top of the 5th inning.  


Defensively the story was our starting pitcher, Ethan Luong.  Ethan threw down a virtuoso performance in this game, going 4 strong innings with 6 Ks and only two walks.  Very impressive.  Our glovework was once again very solid with 7 put-outs in this game, several coming at critical points in each inning with runners on base.  Savion played solid at shortstop, Trevor and Nic played a solid third base, and Easton continues to be a reliable first baseman.  We also saw some clutch plays by Sebastian and RJ at second base.  We don't allow too many freebies when it comes to balls hit to our fielders. 


The difference in our game against the Dodgers was our lack of offensive production.  While we were facing some quality pitching, I think we helped their pitchers too much by swinging at bad pitches.  We also could not capitalize on pitches in the zone.  It is probably time for an extra batting practice to sharpen our eyes at the plate.   In the meantime, have Dad and Mom throw wiffleballs to you after dinner,  it's fun for the whole family.  


Next game Wednesday vs. the Mets.  Lets go Giants..

Week 2 - Giants vs. Astros, Twice

Easter break did not cool off the streaking Giants.  Facing a tough two-game test against the Astros, our Giants responded with two come from behind victories.  Talking to the team after the second game I told them how proud I was of their effort late in the game and how confident I am in their ability to respond to a challenge. 


In Game 1 against the Astros, Ethan, Savion, Trevor and Nick combined for 5 innings of solid pitching against a very good-hitting Astros team.  Our pitchers did a nice job of bending, not breaking allowing 9 hits against 9 strikeouts and 11 walks.  We had some decent support from our defense.  I was surprised to see our infielders execute the "look the runner back then go to first" play.  It didn't prevent runs from scoring but as we do this more often we will see runs choked off from third with this move.


As with our first two games, offense was the story in this game.  Our Giants erupted for 15 runs on 11 hits, most importantly putting up 5 runs in the bottom of the 5th inning to come from behind for the victory.  Ben Linberg had an outstanding game going 3 for 3 in the cleanup spot with key RBIs.  Easton Fetch also added some crucial RBI in the late innings with some clutch hitting. 

Game 2 was more of the same for the Giants and Astros.  One of the main differences in this game versus the first was the number of baserunners we allowed on walks.  Our pitchers were around the strike zone all day but it was a  very tough strike zone to find. The big difference maker was our defense, which gloved up for 10 put-outs, including an excellent catch in centerfield by Jordan and a sensational play at shortstop from Trevor who rifled a bullet from deep short to beat the runner at first.  Both Brayden and Roberto made terrific plays to save runs at a critical points in the game.  Roberto, Ethan and Nic and Ben allowed 9 hits and 14 walks against 7 strikeouts.  Our pitchers need to continue to work on our accuracy, we cannot give away this many free bases.

Everyone in the lineup hit well.  Our team strung together 17 hits and 9 walks to combine for 14 runs, including the two we needed in the bottom of the 6th inning to take the game.  Joe Fedota got the party started early with a triple to deep center.  Trevor added to his team-leading hit total with a 4 for 4 day with 4 runs scored.  That is Superman-like production from the leadoff spot. Nic Kennedy went 3 for 4 including the game-winning RBIs.  Easton and Brayden continued their consistent hitting in clutch situations.

A funny story about the game winning RBI.  The bases had just been loaded after the Astros INTENTIONALLY WALKED Joe Fedota with one out.  I'm convinced this is going to be a special season since we've already seen a TRIPLE PLAY and an INTENTIONAL WALK all in one little league season.  Nic took three pitches to work the count in his favor 3-0.  Nic stepped out of the box, looked at Coach Dude who told him, under no circumstances, should he swing at the next pitch.  As instructed (ugh..), Nic crushed the 3-0 pitch to right field for a two-run double to win the game.  All I can say is you can't coach instinct..

Great job Giants, lets keep it rolling.  Cubs on Wednesday, Dodgers on Saturday.  Go Giants...

Week 1 Giants vs. Mets and Dbacks

What a great way to start off the season with two inspired performances by our Giants. Even our fans deserve a hand for hanging in there through a 2-inning drizzle. After dusting off some early inning first-game nerves the Giants were able to rally for 5 runs in the bottom of the 4th inning to take the lead away from the feisty Mets.

As expected, we had excellent production from the top of our order. With great table-setters like Trevor and Nic and the big hitters behind them, other NL teams can expect trouble from our lineup this year. Everyone contributed with excellent baserunning allowing us to take advantage of some timely hitting, including a bases clearing deep-shot triple by Ben Linberg. I think the centerfielder is still chasing that ball. Brayden Porter came up huge in the bottom of the 4th with a clutch single for the game tying RBI. Trevor opened the floodgates with the go-ahead RBI. Total production included 7 hits and 9 walks against 8Ks. Defensively there was some nice pitching from Ethan and Roberto who were able to find the umpire's elusive strike zone. Between the two pitchers there were 11 strikeouts against only 9 walks and 7 hits, not too bad. The Giants also gloved up a little bit with 4 put-outs including two caught-stealing put-outs from Ben at catcher. Runners beware, bases don't come cheap against our Giants...

Game 2 brought the Diamondbacks and their fine pitching. The Giants offense erupted for 17 runs on 11 hits and 11 walks against only 2 strikeouts. Only two strikeouts means we were putting the bat on the ball very well. The middle and bottom of the lineup was the story in this game with most of the run production coming from Ethan, Easton and Brayden. Some solid extra-base hits from Easton and Jordan also helped clean the bases. Defensively the story was the TRIPLE PLAY in the first inning. This was a no-joke, legitimate L-1 - 5 -4 triple play. Bases loaded, no outs, a solid line-drive speared by Trevor on the mound, who then threw a seed to Ethan at third to double off the runner, who then fired a perfect strike to Savion at second base for the third out.. WOW, very impressive for each kid to not only be in the right place in that game situation, but to execute as they did. Great job guys and a definite momentum swing in the first inning. I am very proud of the game awareness our kids are showing early in the season. I was also very impressed to see our youngest kid Savion, toe the rubber for three very solid innings of pitching in his first National league appearance. Way to go kid, can't wait to see more. See you at practice on Thursday. Go Giants....

2010 Opening Day

Opening Day ceremonies were better than ever this year. The weather cooperated for the first time in 3 years with sunshine and blue skies. While it may seem like no big deal, every one of our players was on hand for the parade. I think that shows our team's enthusiasm to get the season started. Our kids were extremely respectful and well-behaved on the field. As always, the National Anthem was sung beautifully by Board Member Sara McGarvey and the first pitch between the youngest and oldest player was cute and comical. I know our kids were probably somewhat disappointed that we did not have a game on Saturday, however I know they are ready for our first game Thursday night. See you then.